Dig into almost any car, under the hood or in the interior, and you can find all sorts of odd bits. If you bought a cheaper model, you may find a lot of muted switches or wire harnesses that don’t go anywhere. Or, if you bought a modern Ford Bronco, you might find a completely fake speaker and amplifier – yes, dummy parts almost like a movie prop – in the back. Isn’t it curious?
Video from BuckleUpButtercupTV gives us a great look at this curious production solution from Ford. In the back of her Bronco is a “dummy” amp and subwoofer living behind the trim panel. Both are non-functional, although the speaker looks real and there are wires coming out of the amp. The panel even has a grille for the speaker, although none of that works!
Search online and you will find a ton of Bronco owners who have found the same fake components in the back of their trucks. So what’s going on? Why would Ford put fake parts in the Bronco?
Why?!
First, the background. In late 2022, chip shortages brought on by COVID-19 once again wreaked havoc on Bronco production, just weeks before the new model year. Ford found itself lacking the parts to deliver the new standard seven-speaker audio system it had promised for some 2023 model year cars. Of those seven speakers, one was a subwoofer that lived in the back of the car. Ford wisely figured it could downsize the subwoofer without unduly harming the sound. This allowed the automaker to continue to get Broncos out the door. It should be noted that this only affects models with the standard sound system, not those with the upgraded Bang and Olufsen system, which use different components.
Ford didn’t hide this from customers, of course. As noted on the Bronco6G forums, those with active orders were notified in advance and asked to sign a confirmation form regarding the change. Customers received $250 off MSRP in exchange for deleting the subwoofer. Ford also notified customers that their vehicles will not be retrofitted with a subwoofer at a later date.
Deleting the components made sense. Ford couldn’t provide the chips it needed to build the amplifiers that drove the subwoofer, and it seemed foolish to hold off on making one speaker. So he made the call and kept the production lines running. This all makes sense. However, the exact way Ford did it is quite curious.
See, Ford didn’t just ship the vehicles with the subwoofer and amplifier missing. Instead, he still places the components in the vehicles, using fake amplifiers and subwoofers instead. The amps are easy to spot – they have the same aluminum body as a proper unit, but with a red X on it to indicate bogus status. As covered by The best car audio, the amplifier case has connectors and a circuit board inside, but is not full of components. Subwoofers, meanwhile, don’t have magnets, which would be an easy way to cut costs for a subwoofer that isn’t being used anyway.
As long as we know why Ford did that (supply chain constraints), we don’t know for sure why they have chosen this exact method instead of leaving the field blank. And while Ford’s decision-making here isn’t exactly intuitive — it costs money to make fake speakers and amplifiers — I have some guesses.
On a surface level it would certainly make more sense simply no install amplifiers and subwoofers in vehicles instead, but Ford obviously did this for a reason. Research has been unable to give me an official explanation, so I’ve contacted the automaker for comment. In the meantime, let’s speculate – intelligently! – why did ford bother installing bogus parts.
For one thing, using dummy parts would prevent any disruption to Ford’s fine-tuned assembly line processes, even in a rapidly changing supply chain situation. The worker in charge of screwing in subwoofers and amplifiers? He or she will continue to do the job in the same way. Sure, you can tell them to take a few months off or reassign them, but that’s about it change, and change gets expensive and finicky when you’re in the manufacturing game. Best to leave them at that, right? It sounds silly, but sometimes the easiest way is the best.
More importantly, though, removing the subwoofer and amp has consequences. Remove the subwoofer and its housing, and suddenly there’s nothing between the interior trim and the Bronco’s outer metal body panel. This can act as a funnel for noise to enter the cabin, especially since the subwoofer is close to the rear wheel. Small rock strikes and other annoying noises can be much more audible without a subwoofer. Likewise, if the audio cable from the wiring harness didn’t have an amplifier to plug into, the connector at the end would just rattle around inside the trim. That would sound really boring! [Ed Note: I’m curious if the difference in mass between the real part and the dummy part has any NVH implications. -DT].
A PCB filled amplifier from Bronco that comes with the full subwoofer kit. via Enfig Car Stereo, YouTube screenshot
These problems could be solved. Ford may have an engineer make some type of bracket to hold the connector. The subwoofer can also be replaced with a blocking panel. However, these parts will need to be designed, manufactured, shipped, and the technicians on the production line need to be retrained on how to install them. We are talking about many hours of work for probably dozens of people here. And they are already very busy!
Instead, Ford took the easy way out. One call to the amp supplier—“Hey, we can’t get chips. Just send us the subwoofers blank and put a red X on them.” Done. One call to the subwoofer supplier—“Hey, don’t bother putting magnets or coils in the Bronco subwoofers. Just send us dummies with the cones installed.”
Plug-and-play upgrades are possible, but some choose to use aftermarket amplifiers instead.
Some have also speculated that the removal of the subwoofer or related parts may have affected the Bronco’s crash test approval. This one is out of my wheelhouse, but my engineering sense says that removing a speaker isn’t a big enough change to count in this regard. I could be wrong though, so I raised this with Ford as well.
Alterations are possible
By the way, even though Ford declined to offer retrofits, that doesn’t mean they aren’t possible. Many homeowners have pursued subwoofer installations on their own, and it’s actually remarkably easy. All because Ford left almost everything in place!
For the amplifier, the dummy can be replaced with a part of a working version numbered for the Ford Fusion. Plugs right in. As for the subwoofer, a common choice is the Kicker 6.75″ subwoofer. After that, all it takes is a little modification with the FORScan OBDLink tool to enable the subwoofer output in the audio system.
Making these simple modifications makes the Bronco’s sound system much closer to how the manufacturer originally intended. Low frequencies will no longer be underrepresented!
After all, some will be mad at Ford for not pursuing a retooling campaign. As demonstrated by many owners, it is not difficult to remove some decorative elements and put the working parts where they need to go. Instead, amid a difficult manufacturing environment, Ford chose an easier way out that provided the product to customers and washed its hands of the whole situation. Plus, it gave Bronco owners a fun weekend project in the process. No harm, no foul?
In any case, it gives us an idea of how weird manufacturing can be on a larger scale. Of course, it might seem easier for Ford to just leave parts when they can’t get them. But the reality is often more complicated! Big automakers rarely do anything for silly or frivolous reasons, outside of design and product planning anyway. Dummy parts often exist for good reasons, even if they are ostensibly so worthless.
Image Credits: Amazon, BuckleUpButtercupTV via YouTube screenshot
